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It's official: Americans are now drinking more bottled water than soda.

After decades-long streak of strong growth, bottled water surpassed carbonated soft drinks to become the largest beverage category by volume in the United States in 2016, according to research and consulting firm Beverage Marketing Corp.

The shift comes amid widespread concerns about the health effects of sugary beverages.

In contrast, per capita soda consumption regularly exceeded 50 gallons in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to the report.

Total bottled water volume rose about 9 percent to 12.8 billion gallons in 2016, compared with a year earlier.

"When Perrier first entered the country in the 1970s, few would have predicted the heights to which bottled water would eventually climb," said Michael Bellas, chairman and chief executive, Beverage Marketing Corp.

The levy rate for added-sugar drinks with a total sugar content of 5g or more per 100 mililitres will be 18p per litre, while it will be 24p per litre for those drinks with 8g or more.

Mr Hammond said the makers of these types of drinks had already reduced the amount of sugar in their products, meaning less cash would be raised through the tax, but declared this as "good news for our children".